Raisin rats

[ballpython2]

I was thinking about keeping three adult rats two females and a male to breed for babies for my snakes...can i put three of them in a 29 gallon tank? or is a 55 gallon better because its more room?


Should I use the 55 gallon tank and unplug the under tank heating mat or would the under tank heatin mat be good for the rats to keep them warm?

 

[xhexdx]

They are warm-blooded and won't require a heat mat unless you are keeping them very very cold.

You could keep them in a 20-gal and probably be ok, but odds are you will get more rats than you can feed off so you might want to find something larger. The 55-gal would be good, the challenge will be fixing up a water bottle in the tank.

Good luck.

 

[hasani1408]

the water bottle is no problem if you can't hang one over the edge of tank they make corrner bottles that are covered to avoid chewing and attach by velcro and other things. main thing is the smell hope you have a lot of time to devote to cleaning cages. 20 gallon is fine but you need to seperate the male to avoid him eating babies.

 

[arachyd]

Do NOT separate the male when the females have babies. It can stress the females badly. If you want to remove him to prevent getting too many babies do it when your females do not have babies nursing and well before they deliver if they are pregnant. Males rarely if ever eat baby rats. I have never seen it but I have seen females lose litters when stressed by removing their cagemates. They are extremely social animals. Smell is minimal compared to other small mammals. A weekly cleaning, at most every 2 weeks should be sufficient. Don't use any pine or cedar bedding as it makes them susceptible to respiratory problems.

 

[ballpython2]

Do NOT separate the male when the females have babies. It can stress the females badly. If you want to remove him to prevent getting too many babies do it when your females do not have babies nursing and well before they deliver if they are pregnant. Males rarely if ever eat baby rats. I have never seen it but I have seen females lose litters when stressed by removing their cagemates. They are extremely social animals. Smell is minimal compared to other small mammals. A weekly cleaning, at most every 2 weeks should be sufficient. Don't use any pine or cedar bedding as it makes them susceptible to respiratory problems.

thanks everyone for all the help.

So clean the tank every two weeks, keep the male in there and i dont need the UTH as long as the room is always warm.

udnerstood. and Do rats need anything other than lab blocks as far as food goes?

Like what people food is good for them? I know for a fact they shouldnt have chocolate or acid fruits.

Can they eat wheat stuff? like bread or kashi cereal? I want to fatten them up but i dont want to make em unhealthy fat.

Also, is this just my Petco or all petcos? I was told by an employee there that petcos are NO longer able to sell male rats because they kill each other is this true?

Or do yall think it may be just this Petco??

For substrate I was just gonna use newspaper to keep it simple. Is that too simple?

 

[hasani1408]

our petco sells both male and females. some stores sell only females just to avoid breeding issues. and I have rats their cage needs cleaned out at least 3 times a week. it stinks!! as far as food needs 80 % blocks 20 % fruits and veggies. I give mine cereal squares as treats. newspaper is ok but won't absorb so you will need to clean more. I buy a small bag of crittercare bedding and it lasts almost 2 months I don't put more than a few hand fulls in.

 

[arachyd]

"I have rats their cage needs cleaned out at least 3 times a week. it stinks!!"

If that is true there is something wrong with your setup. Either you have too many rats in the cage, very poor ventilation or you are feeding way to much fresh fruit/vegs. Rats are extremely clean animals and don't come close to the smell you get with mice or hamsters. The only cleaner rodents I've ever had were gerbils.

 

[hasani1408]

I have 2 rats in a super pet rat cage. that is plenty of room for them as for 2 much fruits and veggies. they get ex: 1 slice of cucumber and a couple grapes. they smell more than the gerbils and hamsters I used to have. maybe I am a neat freak who hates any smell.

 

[Diggy415]

I have been raising rats and mice for years now, as far as seperating the male with or without females that have babies, i believe is less stress for the females, it doesn't matter, i have removed males in this matter numerous times, with no ill effects. Pine shaving are good however the fine dust is not for RI, that is for sure, runny noses and all, there is a sawdust on the market i use that has 1% dust it's got large chips, you can also sift out the sawdust to your liking, i have had few problems from RI even with the heavier dusty kind and i have also cured it with antibotics you would feed to cattle and swine. a 20 gl is good for 4. For the smell i use insence in the room and also a air purifier along with a fan, i dare you to smell anything when you enter my room even at 2 weeks without cleaning keep the corner potty areas cleaned out every few days also helps in it all. I have learned alot with what i have done and experimented with and never lost a rat to RI or cannablism. Havn't had a tumor either, just plenty of large litters. Rats up to 23 and mice 16..i think i found my nich in life....good luck and IM me if you want to chat more about things regarding this topic.

 

[Tim Benzedrine]

I'm sorry, I can't resist noting that this thread title sounds like a new breakfast cereal.

"There's 2 scoops of raisins in Kellogg's Raisin Rats. Ask your grocer for Kellogg's Raisin Rats, part of a nutritious breakfast. Made from sun-dried raisins and real New York City sewer rats, with no preservatives or artificial flavouring! And kids, there's a free glow-in-the-dark vermin sticker in every box of Kellogg's Raisin Rats! Collect 'em all!"

Whew! I'm glad to get that out of my system. Sorry for the interruption. Carry on!

 

[ballpython2]

Ok so I'm going to use a 55 gallon tank and so far this is how I have it set up let me know if I need more carefresh bedding (in the green bag) I have more left I can add. Also, I have some Purnia beneful dog food, can they eat that too or is that the wrong kind of dog food?:

also is this the correct bag of food rats are supposed to eat/below the bag is what's in it:

Kaytee Forti-Diet Mouse & Rat Food
2 lbs.
SKU: 32883
Ground yellow corn, dehulled soybean meal, ground wheat, ground oats, ground peanuts, dehydrated alfalfa meal, corn gluten meal, dried cane molasses, lignin sulfonate, fish meal, corn sugar, calcium carbonate, salt, dicalcium phosphate, animal fat (preserved with BHT), brewers dried yeast, dried beet pulp, dl-methionine, choline chloride, riboflavin supplement, ferrous carbonate, vitamin E supplement, vitamin B12 supplement, manganous oxide, ethoxyquin (a preservative), l-lysine, zinc oxide, niacin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), vitamin A supplement, calcium pantothenate, cholecalciferol (source of vitamin D3), copper oxide, pyridoxine hydrochloride, thiamine mononitrate, folic acid, biotin, calcium iodate, cobalt carbonate, sodium selenite, natural flavoring.

 

[arachyd]

Make sure to keep a good lid on that tank. Rats are good jumpers and climbers.

 

[ballpython2]

Make sure to keep a good lid on that tank. Rats are good jumpers and climbers.

Trust me I'll have a lid and TWO GOOD locks lol, one on each end..

 

[GailC]

You might want to get a wheel or something for them to climb/play on, our three rats are very active.

 

[ballpython2]

Today i brought three rats:

One small male (but his testicles have dropped so i think he is matured or close to it)

A small female and a medium sized female (pictures will come soon) does the size of the rats matter as long as they are big enough to produce babies and the male testicles have dropped?

The male is in the middle and the females are on both ends.